A few weeks ago, our team wrote about the latest charge filing statistics published by the EEOC. The agency posts records of charges going back to 1997 – 20 years of data. Since a picture speaks a thousand words, here is the latest information relative to the total number of charges filed with the agency since 1997: Stepping back and putting the new numbers into their relative place, a few things are made clear. The overall rise and fall of charges over…

Basic rules of etiquette and kindness should cover the workplace and extend to travel away from home – fundamentally, treat others as you would want to be treated if the situation were reversed. And yet, some folks just can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves. Thus, a law set to go into effect July 1 within the City of Chicago will provide “panic button” protection for hotel staff against harassment and assault by hotel guests. Known as the “hands off, pants…

Wisconsin is one of the states which has a statute regarding the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Under Wisconsin law, such a covenant is enforceable within a specific territory and for a specified time, but only if the restrictions imposed are reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer or principal (Wisconsin Statute § 103.465). Wisconsin courts historically have applied the statute to all forms of employee limitations, including non-disclosure covenants. See Tatge v. Chambers & Owen, Inc., 579 N.W.2d 217 (Wis. 1998). In…

Last week I wrote a post elsewhere updating business people on the latest developments arising from the tsunami of high–profile harassment reports and allegations in recent months. The bottom line: we have had relatively few changes so far (this aspect of this year’s federal tax law a notable exception), but it seems almost certain there will be. For literally decades employers could protect themselves from most harassment claims with a good policy (easy), appropriate training (pretty easy), and responding appropriately to complaints of harassment (not necessarily…

Much of my time is spent advising non-profits on human resources issues, and the employment issues they face are typically no different than those faced by for-profit employers. Non-profits are legally obligated to put in place a policy that prohibits unlawful harassment in the workplace, to promptly investigate workplace harassment claims, and to take prompt and effective remedial measures to remedy the alleged harassment. This is true – in the non-profit workplace – regardless of whether the alleged harasser is a supervisor, coworker,…